Yelawolf Gets Real Redneck on “Heart of Dixie”…And We Are Loving It

Ever since Yelawolf came on the scene, it was obvious that his music was going to entail an acquired taste. Myself being from the South, the redneck swagger, “white boy shit” that oozes from each and every one of Yela’s tracks hit close to home. That said, not everyone has that same point of reference, or any point of reference at all for that matter. Often times, his music is disregarded as ignorant, white trash, Eminem-wannabe babble. However, it strays far from that…well, the latter at least. As Yelawolf drops his most recent mixtape, Heart of Dixie, he lets us in on what it really means to be the product of such a place, which in turn gives me all the more reason to back him on his skill. Yela is, in fact, a rare breed. He speaks for the masses that have yet to be spoken for through the Hip Hop medium; plain and simple, he represents the Heart of Dixie.

What makes this anti-mixtape so pure in its form is more than just Yela’s work, but the fact that both its DJ, Frank White, and producer, M16, are from Alabama as well. The Heart of Dixie is a succeeder of his last album, Radioactive, and precursor to his upcoming Pyscho White EP with Travis Barker and sophomore album, Love Story. In the wake of the negative feedback on Radioactive, Yela stated “…I’m putting out music the way I f***ing want to put it out now, and making music exactly how I want to do it”. Judging by everything from Heart of Dixie‘s cover, on which he states “This is not a f***ing mixtape” to the track list, consisting of song titles such as “Big Nutz”, “Fuck Me”, and “Sobriety Sucks”, he seems to be executing his plan just fine. In its entirety,The Heart of Dixie is a blunt embodiment of the wife beater wearing, Colt 45 drinking, redneck masses. Between Yelawolf’s motormouthed slang, M16’s trill beats, and DJ Frank White’s musical direction, the album might be Yelawolf’s most crude composition yet and we’re loving every bit.